The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Sunday, November 18, 2012

"Islam Needs a Fair Chance in Germany"

by Soeren Kern

The most controversial part
involves a commitment by the city government to promote the teaching of
Islam in the Hamburg pubic school system. The agreement grants the
leaders of Hamburg's Muslim communities a determinative say in what will
be taught by allowing them to develop the teaching curriculum for
Islamic studies. Muslim officials will also be able to determine who
will (and will not) be allowed to teach courses about Islam in city
schools -- meaning that only Muslims will be allowed to teach Islam.
Muslims, for their part, are hoping the Hamburg treaty will establish a
precedent for the rest of Germany to follow.

Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, has concluded a "historic treaty"
with its Muslim communities that grants Muslims broad new rights and
privileges but does little to encourage their integration into German
society.

The November 13 agreement,
signed by Hamburg's Socialist Mayor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of four
Muslim umbrella groups, is being praised by the proponents of
multiculturalism for putting the northern port city's estimated 200,000
Muslims on an equal footing with Christian residents.
But critics say the agreement, the first of its kind in Germany, will
boost the growing influence of Islam in Hamburg and will encourage the
perpetuation of a Muslim parallel society in the city.
The most controversial part of the accord involves a commitment by
the city government to promote the teaching of Islam in the Hamburg
public school system. The agreement grants the leaders of Hamburg's
Muslim communities a determinative say in what will be taught by
allowing them to develop the teaching curriculum for Islamic studies.

Moreover, Muslim officials will also be able to determine who will
(and who will not) be allowed to teach courses about Islam in city
schools. In practice, this means that only Muslims will be allowed to
teach Islam and that pupils will not be exposed to any critical
perspectives about the religious, social and political ideology of
Islam.

Under the wide-ranging accord, Muslims in Hamburg will also have the
right to take three Islamic holidays as days off from work. Up until
now, it has been up to individual employers to decide whether or not to
grant Muslim staff religious days off on a case-by-case basis. In
addition, Muslim students will be exempt from attending school on Muslim
holidays.

The agreement also includes provisions for the construction of more
mosques in Hamburg, the upkeep of cultural Islamic facilities, the
authorization for Muslims to bury their dead without the use of coffins,
as well as the counseling of patients and prison inmates by Muslim
clerics.

Hamburg has also pledged to incorporate Muslim broadcast slots
alongside Protestant and Catholic broadcasts on public and private radio
and television, as well as broadcasting council seats for Muslims with
the northern Germany's NDR public broadcaster and Germany's federal ZDF
television channel.

Muslims for their part undertake to respect fundamental rights and
support equality between the sexes, although the document provides no
specifics on how these notions are defined or how they will be enforced.

Mayor Scholz, who is a former federal labor minister of the
opposition Social Democrats (SPD), described the signing at the Hamburg
city hall as a "milestone" for integration, adding: "With the signing of
these agreements, we are strengthening the societal foundation of our
city: we are all Hamburg."

Zekeriya Altug, chairman of the Hamburg branch of the DITIB
Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB is actually a branch of the Turkish
government's Ministry of Religious Affairs), called it a "historic day"
for both Hamburg and Germany. In a statement Altug said:
"With it, Hamburg has today set a precedent for the future of our
country. Many Muslim employees didn't dare ask for days off on those
days for fear of being seen badly. Now they will be able to say: 'It's
my holiday, it's governed by law.' That makes an enormous difference."

The agreement still requires final approval by Hamburg's Parliament,
in which Scholz's Social Democrats hold a majority. Mayor Scholz said he
hoped for a "broad consensus." The opposition Greens have welcomed the
accords; Green Party spokesperson Christa Goetsch called them "a new
chapter in the history of equality." And Hamburg's Protestant Bishop
Kirstin Fehrs said the agreement proved that Hamburg was "open to the
world and tolerant."

Nevertheless, SPD parliamentary leader Andreas Dressel urged caution. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt,
he said political leaders should "take their time before approving such
important matters." He said the Hamburg Parliament's Constitutional
Committee will convene an expert hearing on the agreement and that a
vote will not take place until the spring of 2013.
The leadership of the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) has also
expressed skepticism about the agreement. Party leader Marcus Weinberg
and party chairman Dietrich Wersich issued a joint statement
saying that although they welcome the conclusion of the talks, after
six years of negotiations there are key issues that remain unresolved:
"The agreements contain a number of points, the implementation of which
need to be clarified. For this reason, the CDU will not take a final
position on the matter until it concludes discussion with
representatives of the churches, with scientists and with lawyers. The
unresolved questions involve detailed issues such as the regulation of
the school day, the teaching of religion in public schools and the
holidays."

The agreement has also been met with vociferous opposition from the
classical liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). In a statement, FDP Deputy Anna von Treuenfels
characterized the agreement as "an unnecessary and imprecise treaty
unacceptably negotiated behind the backs of the citizenry." She added:
"Moreover, this agreement is totally imprecise when accuracy is required
more than ever. On the issue of wearing religiously motivated clothing
by public servants, especially teachers [sic]. Even the future of the
heretofore successful interdenominational model of religious education
in Hamburg is being jeopardized. Plus the fact that the lengthy
negotiating process and final signature has been carried out without
parliamentary involvement is also unacceptable, yet another reason why
the FDP rejects this treaty."

The Central Council of Ex-Muslims,
a Cologne-based group representing former Muslims who have been
sentenced to death for apostasy, said the signing of the accord on
November 13 represented a "black day" for Germany. Chairperson Mina
Ahadi said: "The city of Hamburg has bowed to pressure Islamic
organizations and has made concessions that are a step backwards and do
not improve the rights of women."

Muslims for their part hope the Hamburg treaty will establish a
precedent for the rest of Germany to follow. The spokesperson for the
Alevi community in Germany, Aziz Alsandemir, says: "We hope that this
accord will be viewed as a trigger by other provinces."

Bremen, the second-largest city in northern Germany, is close to
finalizing its own treaty with local Muslim umbrella groups. According
to the Socialist mayor of Bremen, Jens Böhrnsen, "Muslims form a
significant part of the population of Bremen." The German states of
Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, both of which are run by
Socialist governments, are also looking at negotiating treaties with the
Muslims in their regions.

At the national level, the SPD has said it would like to see Islam recognized as an official religion in Germany. In an interview with the newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung,
SPD politician Dieter Wiefelspütz said: "It would be an important
signal to the four million Muslims in Germany, if the state recognizes
Islam as a religious community." He added: "Islam needs a fair chance in
Germany."
Why are Germany's Socialist politicians, who are usually militantly
proud of their secular credentials, bending over backwards to
accommodate Islam? The SPD hopes to unseat German Chancellor Angela
Merkel in the German elections in the fall of 2013, and Muslim voters
may very well determine the outcome.

Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based
Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.